To Dream of Dragons
by Eternal Flight
Summary: Zuko dreaded being there, more than anything. In this city of whispers and moving shadows, there was no one to trust and nothing to do but wait. Or so he thought, until he is pushed into the secret social world of the city all thanks to Iroh's act of kindness towards an unusual woman. Was there any hope for anyone in Ba Sing Se? A tale of the city
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1: GOLD**

_ Something's definitely not right!_

Zuko could barely suppress an angry growl when the thought entered his mind. Uncle always had a mind of his own, but now that they had reached Ba-Sing-Se, he seemed to be a little too much at ease. Didn't he understand that this would probably be a major setback in finding the Avatar? This was no time to be thinking about tea shops and having "lady friends" over! And now, after all the time they had already wasted in moving into the middle ring of the city for his stupid dream of a tea shop, he wanted to go strolling around at night as well? It was infuriating, to say the least.

The sound of the door opening sent him sprawling to sit up and march into the kitchen. This was the third night in a row that his uncle had decided to go out, and it was getting on his last nerve. Sure, Zuko had been out once with a girl, but it wasn't like he chose it! Everybody was forcing him into things that he could care less about. All he wanted was to get more news on the Avatar and get on his way, back to the country he always knew he belonged in. And he was going to do it soon, damn it. No more wasting time in this god forsaken city of Earth peasants!

With his spirits reinvigorated, he tromped over to the kitchen, swinging the door open only to catch a sight he never, in a million years, would have chanced to happen. Iroh was humming as he put a kettle up to boil while a girl sat behind him on a stool, watching him with a tilt of her head. No offense to his uncle, but this girl was not attractive. At all. Her hair, although a pretty shade of reddish-brown, was jagged and sitting just at the nape of her neck. Her body was a little stocky, the width of her shoulders not at all dainty like most of the women he'd seen before. Her dress was decent, for a peasant.. _Wait a second! _He had to resist to face palm at the drifting of his thoughts. _This is no time to be wasting my thoughts on someone like her! What the hell was she doing here? She.. She isn't a prostitute is she? God, when Uncle had said 'lady friends' he couldn't have been insinuating for himself, could he? _

"Just what.." He grumbled, shooting a heavy glance in Iroh's direction. "Is going on here?"

The girl turned around, and Zuko felt his breath catch in his throat. Forget about what he had said before about her being extremely plain. Her face, though a little large, was a interesting shape and paleness that he though only those from the Fire Nation could be complexioned with. Her eyes were wide almonds, sucking him into their rich amber color. She smirked at him, the light dancing across her face. Pretty was the first word that shot across his mind. _Pretty?! _He was almost flabbergasted at his own consciousness. _Oh spirits, she's trouble, I can just feel it._

"Ah, Lee," Iroh motioned to the girl with a smile. "This is Kei."

"I could care less about who she is!" He yelled, pointing a finger in between the two of them. "What is she doing here? She better not be a street walker or another girl you want to set me up with!"

His uncle sent him a questioning glance, before turning to Kei apologetically. "You must excuse my nephew. He sometimes has an unbridled tongue on him. Kei and I got into a little bit of a collision earlier when I was taking my stroll. She was injured, so I brought her here to tend to it."

"It's really nothing." Kei turned back to Iroh after gazing at Zuko for one moment longer than necessary. "Just a little scratch won't harm me. I'll be on my way, if it's causing you so much trouble."

The tea kettle whistled, seeming to answer the question for her. Iroh poured some of the boiling water into a bowl, dipping a cloth in it gently. Zuko watched as he bent down to examine her leg, placing the damp cloth on an oozing gash. His lips twitched, wondering how she could push off something that looked painful, at least for a woman. She sat silently until he was done, almost seeming like she was off in another world.

"There." Iroh said, placing the bowl away. "It seems that it will heal very quickly. Though I am still very sorry for knocking you over."

"Please," she placed her hand on his shoulder warmly. "Don't keep apologizing. We were both at fault."

The older man grinned, looking at the kettle. "It seems there is still enough hot water for some tea. Could I oblige you to stay and share a cup with Lee and myself?"

She shrugged, glancing over at Zuko before answering. "If you'll have me."

The young prince's frown seemed to grow. First, she was in here saying that she was intruding, and now she was fine with having a cup of tea? Women. You could never exactly tell what they were really thinking. If growing up with Azula and her crazy friends were any indicators, he knew to keep a weary eye on them at all time. Why his uncle was always flirting with them and sending them off in a fit of giggles at his unexpected friendliness, was an even bigger question.

The three of them sat down, only to have Iroh begin a rant of his favorite types of teas, particularly ginseng and why he claimed it as his top choice. Zuko almost groaned at his predictability, knowing this whole lecture by heart from the years he had spent at sea, listening to the same words leave his uncle's lips with vigor and glee. He glanced over at Kei, and almost fell out of his seat to notice her unmasked enthusiasm. She was listening to every word he said like it was gold falling out of the sky, throwing in her own questions whenever he broke for a sip of the beverage sitting before them. Was she just doing it to pity his uncle? Or was she really enjoying this?

"Can I go now?" Zuko said, resisting the urge to slam his head into the table in sheer boredom.

Kei clicked her tongue, only irking him further. "My, how polite your nephew is. I was starting to believe our youngsters were masking it nowadays."

"Really?" His golden eyes bore into her with molten anger. "You're probably younger than me! And I'm sixteen!"

"I'm twenty-three." She stared at him levelly, only to watch his emotions revert to confusion. "Don't worry, I get it a lot. Your uncle thought the same thing earlier."

Iroh laughed. "It is true. Your face holds a very innocent beauty."

She returned the warmth of his statement with a smile before standing up. "Flattery may get a man far if he admires such beauty reciprocal of its worth." Noticing the glance of the two golden-eyed men, she cleared her throat, coloring slightly at her use of a proverb. "Thank you having me as unexpected company, but I should be going now."

Iroh stood, motioning for Zuko to do the same. "It was a honor to have such a cultured young woman among us for a brief, but enlightening period of the evening. If you ever have feel the need to share another cup of tea with us, feel free to come by here or my tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon."

She bowed, sending a warm smile between the two men. "I will. Good night."

"Lee!" Iroh shot his nephew a look. "A young lady is always walked to the door."

He groaned, getting up in a fluid motion. As much as his uncle irked him, he knew there was very little he could do without him. Moving towards the door with Kei, he opened it hastily for her departure. She nodded towards him, ambling out it at a leisurely pace. Just as he was about to slam the door and fume his way back to his room for some much needed quiet time, she stopped abruptly. He watched her for a moment, his eyebrow raised at her unexpected pause.

"Your name.." Her voice barely reached his ears, but when it did, his blood ran cold in realization. "Isn't Lee, is it? Z-"

His hand shot out and covered her mouth before she could finish her statement. Hissing, he grabbed her arm with his free hand, angry beyond belief. This was _not _happening. How did this, this _peasant_, know anything? They had only met for less than a hour. She must be a spy, or something very dangerous. How had his uncle not seen this?!

"How do you know that?!" He snarled, the gaze of his golden eyes heavy and unforgiving.

Her eyes danced with emotions, but none of which he would have expected. There was nothing dark there, hidden within her irises. Only fear, confusion, and a little melancholy. She gave a hesitant shrug, gesturing to his hand on her mouth. He dropped it, only to give her a small cough.

"So it was true.." She muttered, her face turning ashen white as she tried to avoid his gaze.

"You better get to the bottom of this!" He growled, not liking her unclear response. "If you don't-"

"It's alright!" She whispered, trying to shake free of his grasp. "That's all I know about you. Honestly! We all have something to hide here in Ba-Sing-Se. I don't mean you any harm. Do you think if I knew why I knew your name, I'd be sitting here playing guessing games with you?! It doesn't make any sense. It never did."

His eye twitched, watching her silently fume. Zuko had always been a good judge of character and intent, and right now, he knew that Kei was actually telling the truth. Letting her go, he gestured for her departure with a brute swipe of his arm. She glanced at him for a moment longer, her mouth a grim line, before jolting off like a frightened rabbit-squirrel. Pinching the bridge of his nose tightly, he stared out into the darkness before slamming the door and retuning to his room.

_Just what I needed. _He almost punched the wall in fury. _First the Avatar, and now this woman! I don't need anymore on my plate. Stupid Uncle and his kindness to peasants! He brought this whole mess on, and we're are sure as hell going to figure a way out of it._

**AN: Just something I happened to write while out sick a while back. Not sure if anyone's up to reading something like this, but I'm hopeful. Please review! I would love the feedback, and the knowledge if there's someone out there who would like this continued. ~E.F.**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: DIRT**

Kei didn't show her face for the span of over two weeks. With Iroh's shop taking off and gaining popularity all across the city, Zuko would have thought that if she had secretly been wanting to sabotage them, she would have done so by now. Ever since her unexpected confession that night, Zuko wasn't quite sure what to think of her, or what to say to Uncle. It was like she wasn't even sure of what she was saying about him, but then how did she even know his name? They'd never met. He was a hundred and ten percent sure of it. After that little encounter with that accusing street rat in the lower ring, he had been more cautious to how people perceived him and his uncle. And as of now, he would not let some woman crumble his resolve.

He almost didn't believe his eyes when he was out one day, handing out samples of a specialty blend of tea in front of the shop. The tray had just been finished off, but just as he was going to turn tail and return inside, he caught sight of a group of men hanging around a nearby alley. Kei seemed to materialize out of nowhere, her gaze somewhere else as the group caught sight of her. One of the well-dressed ones moved his foot slightly, sending her tumbling as Zuko could only cringe at her plight. Another man stoop down and said something to her, sending his boot into her side within seconds.

As much as Zuko wanted to leave her at her obviously avoidable demise, he really couldn't let this opportunity pass by. She still had information for him that he needed to figure out. No one just happened to know his real name without some snooping, or other dark ways of begetting information. Somehow or another, that would only come about if they interacted again. Dropping the tray, he tromped across the street to the woman. The three attackers were watching him with little humor, looming over him with accusation.

"Got a problem, scars?" One of them snarled, jabbing at Kei with the toe of his boot.

"Yeah, I do!" Zuko growled at the mention of his scar, pushing between them with an angry heave of his shoulders. "Leave this woman alone. I saw the whole thing and let's just say, she didn't do anything to you."

"Didn't do anything?" The one who had kicked her earlier seemed to glower over at him, his gaze settling once again on his scar. "Damn woman needs to learn some respect when walking past us. Next time, it won't just be my boot jabbing into her."

The other two laughed at his lewd comment, which only infuriated Zuko even further. "Come on!" He reached for Kei, helping her to stand. The leader pushed closer, but the other two held him back, whispering hastily in his ear. Zuko stood poised to strike, unsure if a conflict was going to erupt or not. After a moment of charged silence, the three pushed back and made their way in the opposite direction of the tea shop.

Iroh stopped as they entered, knowing fully well that the scowl on his nephew's face would be trouble later if not dealt with now. Apologizing amiably to the customer he had just finished serving, his eyebrows shot up at the sight of a disheveled Kei being led in by Zuko. Gesturing to the back, he resisted the urge to sigh, hoping that no calamity was going to befall them in the next few minutes.

"Sit!" Zuko barked, practically shoving Kei into a used stool they had loitering around in the back room of the shop.

She glanced at him wearily before sitting, dusting off her emerald colored dress to avoid having to look at him. Her other hand shot up to her collarbone, and Zuko could only watch as her eyes went glassy as it met an object hidden beneath the fold of her moss-colored shawl. His scowl seemed to deepen as his thoughts rambled. Why wasn't she crying? Or doing something other than staring off into space like a penitent monk? She was a stupid woman!

"Here." He hadn't even noticed his uncle entered the room, but here he was now, gently forcing a steaming cup of tea into her hand. "It is a nice wildflower medley, to soothe your thoughts. Now nephew, will you please explain to me what happened?"

"This idiot," He hissed, gesturing to the immobile Kei. "Just happened to walk herself into a conflict with a group of men. She wouldn't even manage to fight back!"

His uncle regarded him levelly. "And you stepped in?"

"It wasn't like I had a choice." Zuko's temper lowered slightly, watching as Kei finally took a sip of her tea. "Somebody had to step in and get her out of this clearly avoidable predicament."

"Sometimes," Kei said suddenly, staring deeply into her cup. "We are so focused on finding others that we neglect to find ourselves."

The two men shared a look of shock, her deep thoughtfulness bringing about a whole new world of thoughts. If they hadn't known better, she could have just as easily been insinuating at Zuko's never ending quest to find the Avatar and regain his honor. But she couldn't possibly know that, could she? _She might. _Zuko's thoughts turned dark. _She already knew my name, so who knows what other information she has stacked up against us. _

"No truer words have ever been spoken, my dear." Iroh spoke gently, but Zuko could see the sadness lingering within his expression for a spilt second before the old man abruptly smiled. "But on to a more serious matter. You're not hurt, Kei?"

She shrugged, frowning a little. "In all honesty, it'll probably bruise over within the next few days. Other than that, I should be fine. Those thugs just wanted to see how much they could do before getting caught, so I couldn't imagine any real damage being done." Her hand suddenly wrapped around Zuko's forearm, causing him to shoot her a look. "Thank you for intervening on my behalf, Lee. You have a good heart, though I'm sure no one ever notices it behind that scowl you seem to favor."

Iroh laughed, only infuriating the teenager to another level. "Don't you have anywhere better to be than causing trouble out on the streets?!" Zuko growled, snatching his arm out of her reach. "We're not here to pity you for your own stupidity."

If his comment unnerved her, Kei didn't show it. Her gaze drifted out again, glassy like it had been before Iroh arrived. "Not today. Madame Lu-Ji caught me daydreaming again and told me to go home. She said if my work wasn't so meticulously well-done, I would have been out on the streets and in the lower ring within the hour. My pay will probably be docked again, but I always seem to get by."

"And what exactly do you do?" Iroh seemed interested in her rambling.

She lifted a hem of her dress, giving the men a sight of a beautifully embroidered eel-hound only a shade lighter than the material of her dress. "Needlework, mostly. Madame Lu-Ji owns a extensive business of sorts, so anything from making dresses to looming rugs and tapestries, I'm able to do. She seems to pride herself on my embroidery, which I guess is note-worthy in some aspect."

"It is a true art form." The older man nodded deeply, stroking his beard. "Though you do not seem confident in your own hand. An artist should always be appreciative of his own works, as it mirrors his own soul."

She smiled briefly, letting it die out in the silence that followed. "Thank you, Mushi."

Voices came flowing in from the other room, and Zuko watched as his uncle shot up, completely immersed in their conversation with Kei that he began to neglect his customers outside. The two of them sat alone as the older man said a quick apology to Kei and shuffled out the door. Zuko felt a mixture of feelings towards this woman: hostility, impatience, and surprisingly, curiosity. She hadn't once cried out at the way those men had treated her, and even amongst the three of them, she didn't whine or complain about her dismal turn of events. Strangely, she seemed almost at ease with it all.

"The shop seems to be doing very well." She said gently, putting her now empty cup on the edge of the stove-top beside her. "Your uncle has a very cultured outlook on tea. Though I must say, you don't really seem like a tea enthusiast yourself."

Now she was trying to make small talk? Incredible. "As long as my uncle is happy, I'll survive." He grumbled, gesturing around them gruffly. "And since he's always rambling on about tea, at least he has somewhere to do it where people actually appreciate it."

She let out a peal of laughter, standing up to move beside him. "You seem to love him very much."

He shot her a fiery glance, but the look in her eyes made him stop short. She seemed to remind him of someone else, someone who sat like a weight tied to his heart. _Ursa. _The remembrance of his mother shot through him like an arrow, piercing him with those emotions that were better left untouched. No woman had ever shown him such gentle warmth and understanding in her gaze, until now. And despite the awakening of these burdensome emotions, he felt a sting of venom rising at this blatantly careless woman.

"Well, I should be off." Kei seemed to notice his growing animosity and moved towards the door. "Again, thank you for watching out for me. Perhaps our fates will have us meet again another day."

_ He waited until she was out of the room to slam his fist against the counter, rattling the tea cup she had left. No. He growled inwardly, his rage and bitterness growing with every second. I hope I never have to see your careless, secretive ways ever again. No one looks down on me like that. No one!_

**AN: Well, this fic has been getting some decent views so I decided to go ahead and update. Hope you enjoyed. ~ E.F.**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: BLOOD (PART 1)**

Heavy knocks reverberated against the door frame, shocking Iroh and Zuko out of their peaceful slumber. Zuko sat blinking in the utter darkness, trying to piece together what was happening. A deep, gnawing set of fears settled in his stomach, because whatever, or whoever, was waiting on the other side of that door meant trouble. Had someone found out they were running from the Fire Nation? His heart almost did a double flip at the slight possibility of that being possible.

Iroh's muffled footsteps hurried down the hall, and with a hiss, the banished Fire Prince grabbed his robe and made haste after him. A very stoic looking guard was staring back at them when the door was opened, two shadows wavering behind him. Zuko squinted for a moment, and scowled when he familiarized himself with the tall, slender shadow of a woman. Of all the damn people, Kei would have to be one of the idiots being dragged to their doorstep in the middle of the night.

"May I help you?" Iroh said, trying his best to only sound courteous.

"This girl," He tugged Kei forward, almost sending her tumbling with the smaller shadow, one Zuko could clearly see was a child, onto the ground between them. "Was out amongst some of our more troubling streets and came across some trouble with her brother. I obviously knew they were underage, and demanded to know where they lived. She said here. Is that correct sir?"

Zuko shot Iroh a look, knowing clear and well that Kei had been lying through her teeth. The older man sighed, rubbing his beard in contemplation. "I am very sad to say," He started, glancing between the two captives, and Zuko almost let out a breath of relief that he was sending Kei off to her own demise. "That my grandchildren have gotten out of line. Come inside, children, and let me have a stern talk with the two of you." He glanced up at the guard. "And I am deeply sorry for the trouble you have gone through tonight. This wonderful city is honored to have those such as yourself guarding its streets, day and night."

The man seemed appeased by Iroh's lie, but Zuko was far from it; he was steeping in fury. Why was Iroh always stepping in to save this peasant? They owed her nothing! She was doing for them all was causing trouble, each and every time that they happened to cross paths. The guard pushed the two in after saying good bye to Iroh, and the door was closed behind them with a small pop.

"Lee," Iroh said, gravely putting his hand on Kei's shoulder. "Go and heat up some water. It seems that we will be having a very serious talk tonight."

Kei pushed the child forward, and even in the darkness you could see the dirt and miserable appearance he was in. "The child was in a fight with an older boy who demanded retribution. He's innocent." She sounded pained, her voice feebly carrying in the gap between them. "I had to step in, or else.."

Her voice trailed off, and Zuko cut into the silence with a scathing laugh. "Had to what? Get into another load of trouble? What were you even doing out on the streets at this time of night? Hm? You're nothing but problems! Why can't you just keep your nose in your own business?!"

"Lee." The tone his uncle was using left no room for compromise. He had only heard him speak this way a handful of times, and it never ceased to chill him to the core. "The water."

Zuko stormed off towards the kitchen, leaving the small boy quaking in the aftermaths of his visible anger. Kei placed a hand on his dingy scalp, trying to reassure him that everything was going to be just fine. Her lips were pressed together tightly, and the older man could see reminiscent of tear stains across her waxen cheeks. Something was evidently being hidden by the woman, and he knew that it was more than just the small child's predicament.

"Come now," He said gently, trying to move Kei into the direction of the kitchen. "Let us all sit down, and we'll get it all situated."

"Get the boy something to eat." She didn't budge under his touch, but instead released her grip on the child. "And see that he gets back out when you see fit. K-"

She staggered forward with a cough, her eyes rolling into her head in a sweep of unconsciousness. Iroh tightened his grip on her, getting her to the floor in a gentle, fluid motion. The child watched helplessly as he called her name, listening to her heartbeat for any sign of a serious problem. Iroh turned towards the child with a questioning glance, only to have him break out into a series of hysteric wails.

"Now, son." Iroh said kindly, trying to glean some information out of the crying child. "It's alright. What happened?"

"T-the lady saw Bo starting a fight with me for some money he lost. When he started coming towards me with a knife," He wailed, crumpling to the ground beside Kei. "She stepped in between us. He got- he got mad and sliced her once! She gave him the money, but then the guard came and Bo ran! She grabbed me, and told me to be quiet. That guard made us walk for a long time. Now she's dead, and it's all my fault!"

"She's not dead." Iroh said quietly, watching as the boy clung to Kei's subdued form. "Not if you can tell me where your friend with the knife got her."

"Over here." He made a frantic arc with his hand above her right hip bone between sniffles. "Don't let her die, mister! She did good for me!"

The old man mustered a tiny smile. "We will do our best. Now, be a good boy and stay with Lee in the kitchen. I need quiet and patience to help her. Everything will work out, I promise."

Just like the boy had said, Kei had sustained a deep knife wound. Iroh pursed his lips at the sight of it, knowing that it would scar badly. Thankfully, it had not been deep enough to wound any of her internal organs, or like the little street boy had said, it would have been fatal from the moment it was implemented. He bandaged it up tightly, leaving Kei in his room to rest off the strain of having to walk for spirits knows how long to reach their apartment in tow with the guard and the child.

Zuko was far from happy to be left alone with a filthy child who kept breaking out into fits of tears in random increments, but his uncle had made it very clear that it would be dishonorable to see Kei in such a state until she was lucid again. As much as he disliked her constant downfall into the most foreseeable of circumstances, he had to admit that she did the right thing protecting the kid. Something about her seemed off, but as much as he wanted to lay the guilt on her being a sinister back-sliding person, the few encounters he had with her proved quite the opposite. She was collected, warm, and thought-provoking. _A lot like Uncle and my mother._ He thought ruefully, as the child, now identified as Len, scarfed down another bowl of leftover stew from the night before.

Iroh returned after about an hour, sitting down at the edge of the table with a weighty sigh. Zuko silently passed him a cup of tea, which he received with a mirthless grin. Len had recently passed out on the table, his small form slumped over in a food induced slumber. The teen could only roll his eyes at his unconventional stature, aware that this kid had probably not seen prospects this good in several weeks or months.

"Kei will be alright." His uncle said gravely, passing a glance over the slumbering child. "She did quite the deed protecting this child, who is clearly not her own."

"Uncle," Zuko matched his tone, scowling over his cup. "Something is up with that woman."

"So you noticed it, too." He took a meditative sip of his tea. "She seemed.. a little distracted when I first happened to bump into her. Now that I look more clearly into our encounters, I have to say that her wandering mind is most likely the source of her problems. Perhaps when she wakes up, we will get a little more depth into how her life really is."

"That's not it!" Zuko slammed his fist into the table, only to get a moan out of Len. After letting out a heavy exhale, he continued in a quieter tone. "She knows my real name."

Iroh's eyebrows shot up, but his eyes were deep in contemplation. "In all honesty, I would not have guessed that she would know such information. It is very startling news indeed. Do you think that she is a danger to us, nephew?"

"No." The word escaped his mouth before he could even think. His mood darkened at the realization of his subconscious protection of her. "I mean, if she knew anything about us, wouldn't she have already made it clear? All she does is walk around with her head in the clouds, like she has nothing better to do. I think the only person she's a danger to is herself. How an idiot like her had made it this far, I don't understand."

"We should not be accusing towards others when we have no recollection of what fate has in store for them." The mood seemed even heavier. "However, we will inquire into how this information came to being. Although she may not be the one the information came directly from, perhaps she will be willing enough to point us to whoever it is who does know."

Zuko tightened his grip on the cup. "I sure hope so."

**AN: Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy! ~E.F.**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 3: BLOOD (PART 2)**

A low fever broke out over Kei during the next few hours, and with the sleepless turn of events the night had brought, Iroh decided it was in everyone's best interest to close the Jasmine Dragon for the entirety of the day. He left with a now washed, but frantic, Len in tow, giving Zuko the task of monitoring her condition in his absence. The scarred teen sat in the room beside the woman, meditating in the darkness. He broke to change the wet cloth on her forehead at random intervals, watching the muscles in her face contort into a range of painful frowns.

_ Don't you dare pity her. _He willed himself not to soften his resolve towards this stranger. _She brought it on herself._

A sudden moan snapped him from the thoughts of his mind, and he turned to regard Kei's eyelids fluttering slowly. Leaning forward, he said her name in the silence, trying to get a lucid reaction from her. His voice didn't seem to register any change, and she closed her eyes again, turning slowly in her fever-induced slumber. Her hand shot out in his direction, a soft mumble breaking from her lips. His eye twitched at her helpless state, wanting nothing more than to leave her to her own unhappy dreams as his thoughts grew uncomfortable. Despite the urge to get up and leave, he knew the honorable thing to do was stay here until she settled down again.

Reaching out, he put his hand over hers. The extra heat of her fevered skin would have bothered most people, but being a Firebender, the risen temperature seemed almost comforting. In all his life, the only hand of a woman that he had ever held was that of his mother. His mind snapped back to the memories of those days, filtering through their happy moments together until the sharp imposition of her departure brought them all to a sudden halt. Unlike his mother, Kei's hand was nobbled and slightly worn, probably from her toilsome work. He had always assumed that girls had small, dainty hands, but in reality, most women were sent out to work if not of noble blood. The thought of women sent a cold tingle up his spine, and willing himself not to think about his heinous sister or her two cohorts, he turned his thoughts else where, going back to his quest for the Avatar.

Kei let out a heavy sigh, her hand drooping limpidly against the edge of the blanket. Zuko looked over her, only to see her face more relaxed. The years seemed to slip off her face, and he was almost baffled that she looked so vulnerable and childish. _There is no way she's already in her twenties. _He grumbled to himself, snatching his hand from hers. _And there is no way everything she's told to us is the truth. Who is she really here to help? Or is she only here to destroy?_

Her fever broke the next night when the two men were going to turn in for the night. They had been sitting in Iroh's room, attempting to play a game of Pai Sho, when a few undecipherable words escaped the now conscious woman's mouth. Moving over to where she was now slumped over in a feeble attempt to sit, Iroh helped support her wavering posture, while Zuko sat by his side with a signature scowl plastered on his face.

"Easy, Kei." Iroh pleaded with her gently, watching as a low hiss of pain escaped her lips. "You have sustained a nasty knife wound. Do not force your body if it is not ready yet."

One of her hands crumpled around her head, shielding her expression from the men. "I'll be alright. The boy?"

"He's fine!" Zuko snapped, wondering how in the world she could be thinking of that pretentious street urchin at this moment in time. "He ate our food, got a nice nap, and hey, we even decided to sweeten the deal and gave him a bath! Anything else we were supposed to do?"

Her first reaction to his irritation was a deft punch that intersected his jaw. The scarred prince cradled the dull pain for a moment, before snarling at her with a look of pure loathing. Iroh only chuckled at the turn of events, knowing that humor was usually the easiest way to break Zuko away from a worthless venture in his uncontrollable emotions. The teenager shot him a look, making to get up, but the thought occurred to him that interrogating her would be worth more than the trouble she was trying to cause, causing him to sit down again with an irritable sigh.

"Sorry." She whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose before sweeping a heavy gaze between the two. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears, but by the way her lips were set, it was clear she was doing her best to not break down in front of them. "I'm in a mess of trouble, aren't I?"

"It all depends." Iroh said cautiously, releasing his hold on her. He looked to Zuko, who was gesturing to get on with it already. Heaving a sigh, he looked back to the anguished woman. "Kei, it has become clear to me that you know something of our existence before coming to Ba-Sing-Se. Although it may not mean much to you, it is very dangerous for you to have this knowledge. Before anything else, we must know how this knowledge came to your ears, and see how to proceed with the situation as it sits."

She nodded, looking at Zuko with a torn expression, before turning her gaze towards the nothingness of the air directly in front of her. "It's a long story, so please bear with me. When I was a young child, there was a large plaque that swept through my landlocked village, about a two-week journey from Ba-Sing-Se. I barely survived it, and things were always different from then on. I-" Her voice cracked, but the tears remained held within the boundaries of her gleaming eyes. "I was always a little too knowledgeable about things then most children should have been. My parents just threw it off as an overactive imagination, and for a while I just accepted it. The children of the village didn't feel comfortable around me from the get-go, except for Huang-Fu."

She smiled, the tears finally spilling slowly down her ivory cheeks. "He was always there for me. We used to climb trees, dance, play games together, and he always listened when I had one of my.. moments of clairvoyance. It helped for a while, and everything continued on with little incidence. Then one day, as Huang-Fu and I were climbing an old gnarled tree as teenagers, I had a sudden vision come over me of our village burning from the viewpoint of where I was standing. My consciousness faded, and I fell from the tree before he could even pieced together what was happening. I sustained a concussion, and my parents could not take the mess my clairvoyance had turned me into."

She paused, gesturing for Zuko to hold out his hand. After a huff, he handed it to her, only to have it placed on the back of her head. There was a coin-sized lump hidden within the tresses of her hair, and it seemed to move slightly against where it met her scalp. Disgusted, he pulled away, looking at her wearily. She shrugged, rubbing the back of her head lightly.

"Just to give some truth to what I was saying." She muttered sullenly, before clearing her voice. "Anyway, I was locked in my home. They gave me lessons on all sorts of etiquette that they had neglected to pin on me from an earlier age, and that's how I came to work on embroidery and the such. Life was hell. It was like those silly little stories you heard as a child of girls locked up in towers, left there to wait for someone else to take responsibility of their existence. Though no one ever did for a long time.

"I tried to tell them about my vision for months after everything settled down about my accident, but it always fell on deaf ears. After a while, I started to think that I was crazy. No one ever believed me. That was, until Huang-Fu was finally allowed to see again. Thinking back on it, I think my parents always blamed him for letting me fall. He listened intently as I told him about my vision, and surprisingly, he believed in my intuition, like he always had.

"We made a plan to escape at the end of the week, not knowing when or how the fire was going to occur. And we did. His family had so many kids, they wouldn't miss Huang-Fu, who was always a little to serious for his own good. The two of us traveled inwards towards the country, finding small work to add to our funds. It was hard, but spirits, it was freedom for both of us. After four months of running, we finally got the news that flipped our world upside down: Our village had been burned to the ground as the Fire Nation was working their way towards Ba-Sing-Se. My vision had actually come true."

The gravity of her confession seemed to weigh heavily on the group for a few moments. She let out a sharp exhale, as a mirthless smile began tugging at her lips. "That was what it took to convince Hunag-Fu that we needed to settle down and move on with our lives. Up until then, my visions had just been de-ja-vu moments that usually had little worth, but this changed everything. Going to Ba-Sing-Se was our best option, but we had some difficult decisions to make ahead of us. Knowing the city, we would most likely be separated since we were not related to each other, and that was never an option. So, the two of us got married the day I turned sixteen.

"We made our way to this city, and did our best to find work to support ourselves in this new home. After months of living in the lower ring, it was so hard to keep going. I was constantly tired and hungry, and the secret that Huang-Fu had been hiding from me finally came out: He had been an Earthbender since we were children. I was shocked. Sure, I had seen him practicing stances as a kid, but whenever I was around, he was just there to join in with whatever I felt like doing; he was just being a regular child like me. He asked if I would be alright with him signing on to begin training for the city's guards or even the Dai Li. I was a little reluctant for him to be put in harms way, but I ended up agreeing in his cause.

"Life turned around for us when he was officially inducted into the guards. We moved here, into the middle ring. Working for the city, he knew who and what went around, and ended up getting me some work at Madame Lu-Ji's, for whom I've been working diligently ever since. We were happy, at least it seemed, for a year or two as we got into the pace of things in a brighter future. I had never really loved Huang-Fu, despite the fact that we had been married for a short while, but as life got its own steady pace again, my feelings took flight, and I loved that man more than life itself.

"As my feelings grew more, the visions seemed to flicker into non-existence. For once in my life, it felt like I was finally able to function like a regular person. But Huang-Fu, he began to change. He saw so much on his shifts as a guard, that I think it was finally getting to him. I wanted him to confide in me, like I had from the very beginning with him, but he would just shrug and say he didn't want to get me involved in the particulars of his job. One night, a guard came to my door, saying that my husband had been caught assisting a group of lower-ring people who were talking about a coup against the workings and was now visiting the Earth King at Lake Laogi."

She broke off to let out a frustrated growl, hinting that the situation had taken a swift turn of events. "When he returned a few days later, Huang-Fu was a completely different person. He had no care to do anything but go to work, eat a little with me, then go off to sleep. I.. I felt so helpless and alone. I tried to fight with him, to plead with him, but it seemed like whatever I said went over his head. My visions came back in fragments and pieces, and now I had no one to help me out through them. We were both lost. I used to pray to the spirits to bring us back to the top of our lives again, so that Huang-Fu could find a way out of whatever it was that holding him captive. I just wanted him back.

"But he never recovered. One night, he asked me for some of those little tea cakes that the store we went to in celebration usually sold. I was so ecstatic that he was finally asking for something that I ran all the way down there to get them to bake a fresh batch for him. When I came back, I heard the water running in the bathroom. I thought he was just taking a bath before we were going to sit and talk. Everything was going to turn around, finally. The water kept running for another ten minutes after I set out the cakes and made us some tea. I went to the door and knocked, but there was no response. The only logical thought running through my mind was that he probably just fell asleep in the tub waiting for me to return. When I opened the door, water was starting to spill out of the tub around him. It wasn't until I got closer that I noticed the blood seeping through the water around him. Huang-Fei had killed himself."

Both sets of golden eyes turned to gaze at her with elicit shock, unable to do anything but sit, completely floored, as she broke down into a heave of bereaved tears. Suicide? Zuko had heard of people doing such a things, and if he had to admit it, the idea had jumped into his head when he was first banished but... this man actually went through with it? The ability to rationalize what she had just said was jarring his mind.

The older man placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off with a gentle swipe from one of her own. "They came to to take him away, but since he had died an dishonorable death, everything went downhill very quickly for me. He wasn't even given a funeral. They wanted to make people who ended up like Huang-Fu disappear very quickly, you see. Ba-Sing-Se is a city of only the most honorable and hard working people, so those who break the mold are swallowed in the shadows of the city's undertakings. I was considered a widow in the light of technicalities, but the city still considered me married to him, so I was left on my own. They made me stay in our apartment, where every single moment made me think of him. It was sickening and maddening. After a while, I just stopped caring. A few people obviously got word of his suicide, and my world was flipped over all over again. Dirty looks and encounters on the streets happened all the time that I even began to expect them when I went out. No one ever came to my rescue, and I felt lost within myself. The grief of losing my husband, on top of these attacks seemed so burdensome on my pathetic excuse for a heart.

"My visions came and went, but I think my mind was just slipping. Nothing made any sense anymore. I just started disappearing into my own world, just to live with the pain. Then, about a few months ago, I had another vision."

She broke off to stare at Zuko with frighteningly serene gaze. "I was standing in a blank canvas of white. A whirlwind of colors and smells swept around me, and a large gray dragon was staring at me, wrapping its body in the endless width of the canvas around me. Looking into its large eyes, I was transported through fragments of different memories- A serene pond, a bloody, lifeless corpse, a game board tile, and lastly, you. You were walking away from wherever I was looking from, wearing some fancy crimson robe, and I heard someone yelling over my shoulder '_Zuko!' _You looked over to me once, then kept walking. It ended with me standing in front of the dragon again, laying my head against it in a truce of understanding."

He chanced a glance at Iroh, who was now deep in thought. Everything she said seemed to ring true, which explained how his real name had come to her knowledge. But still, she couldn't possibly be talking about his uncle, could she? All those images she had just described fit into his life somehow: the Fire Palace's small pond, the loss of Lu Ten, his ridiculous obsession with Pai Sho, and of course, Zuko himself. Nothing else seemed to fit into what she was seeing.

Kei seemed to notice the tension in the air and gave a bitter scoff. "I should have known. I am crazy! Unless, you happen to know a dragon, Zuko."

She barked joylessly, shaking her head at her own accusations. Iroh cleared his voice in the silence that followed, gesturing for Zuko to let him answer. "Actually, Kei, you are not incorrect. My nephew does happen to know one dragon, though in name only. When I was a general, many gave me the nickname the Dragon of the West."

Her eyes were almost popping out of her skull when she finally found the strength to regard him. "I-Impossible-"

"It's true!" Zuko was losing his patience with her, now that it was clear that she was just a scatterbrained clairvoyant. "He was one of the best leaders this war had ever seen. You should be honored that your stupid vision showed him like that!"

"I am pleased to hear you speak so highly of me, nephew," Iroh had his signature grin plastered across his face. "But let us not provoke Kei."

She shook her head, placing her hands against her flushed face. "I think I'm going to be sick."

The older man chuckled, helping her to lay back down in the comfort of the blanket. "Easy now. You have just put yourself through another set of stress for our sake. I am sorry that we had to provoke you, but it seems that we both have some answers now, don't we?"

Her eyes seemed far off again, the corners of her mouth pulling into a confused grin. "Hm."

She flitted off to sleep after a few minutes, and Iroh got up, letting out a heavy sigh. Zuko watched him turn towards the door, seeming to be in another world. He was tempted to follow him, but at this moment, he knew there was really nothing to say. Instead, he reverted back to meditating, glad for the first time that he was the one who had been spared another round of conflict with this sad woman and her uncanny knack to stir up the deepest of memories in everyone she came into contact with.

**AN: Well, here's a larger chapter. I see there's a few people keeping up with it, so thank you. Please enjoy! ~E.F.**


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